


The Name of the Game

by ionik



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Canon Compliant, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Dungeons & Dragons References, M/M, POV First Person, POV Shepard (Simon Snow), Post-Book 2: Wayward Son, Post-Watford (Simon Snow), University
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-02-18 12:48:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21711013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ionik/pseuds/ionik
Summary: It's been months since America. Shepard and Agatha live in London and attend uni along with Baz, Penny, and Simon.Between classes and assignments, parties and formal events, the five of them find time to unite over a game of Dungeons and Dragons.Title tbd.
Relationships: Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	The Name of the Game

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to a WIP ! I hope you'll stick around :)
> 
> This is also the 4000th fic of this fandom ??? I'm so excited there's so much amazing transformative content !! You rule, authors and readers alike <3

**Shepard**

When I found out that this ragtag group of friends had never played a tabletop role playing game, I almost scared Penelope with my intensity when I told them they had to.

“What do you mean you’ve never played a TTRPG, Penelope?”

“What’s a TTRPG,” Simon said through a mouthful of french toast. Or, as they say here, soggy bread.

“A tabletop roleplaying game,” I answered exasperatedly. “It’s like a board game, but there’s no board, but there's a map sometimes, and the rules are all in a book, and your characters are created by you instead of being small cars and hats. And I make the story.”

I knew I was ranting, but I’m just really passionate about some things.

“So we just talk?” Baz asked me. His one hand alternated between bringing a piece of fruit to his mouth and covering his mouth as he chewed. His other hand held Simon’s under the table.

“Well, I talk, and your characters talk, and we roll dice to see what happens! We tempt fate,” I respond with a glint in my eyes. It doesn’t take much more convincing to get the group together.  
  


* * *

  
I just got the newest Cavecrawler book, which completely reinvents the idea of abilities and combat rolling, so I wanted to run that. But just days after I began building the campaign, I witnessed Simon’s difficulty understanding the gameplay mechanics of Skyrim’s spellcasting and quest system at our weekly couch hangout in my dorm room, and that made me settle on just introducing them to Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons. 

We’re at Agatha’s because she has an apartment of her own. Well - she has a roommate, Ginger, who is from America too, but she spends all her time at Herbalife parties and vegan activism cafés. I didn’t even know those things existed outside of California. I’m pretty sure some overzealous wood nymphs started the trends as revenge for the drought.  
Both Simon and I each have tiny rooms, barely big enough to fit a bed and a desk and almost not wide enough to stretch your arms out and spin around. That doesn’t prevent everyone from occasionally gathering there for movie nights, though we all prefer Penelope’s apartment. She has a double, so her and her roommate have each their rooms connected to a shared living room and kitchen. But while Penelope’s roommate has class on Thursday evenings - when we have movie nights -, her schedule means her other classes are at the same time as our group’s. And when Penelope’s roommate is home, so is her boyfriend. And the walls are thin.

Baz’ room is off-limits, he’s said, to everyone but Simon, of course. He says he practices dark rituals in there. I think he’s just embarrassed that he likes to have pastel walls and decorative pillows on his bed. And I don’t want to spend more time than necessary at the place of Baz and Simon’s make-out fests.

So we agreed on playing in Agatha’s apartment. Sunday mornings - before Penelope meets with her study group and after I return from my night shift at the campus café.

For the first session, I asked my players to bring their character concept and the basic sheet I helped them create. Agatha apparently played a one-shot at her uni last year, so she picked up on it fast. She went for a high elven druid. I love how Agatha likes living in harmony with nature. She doesn’t go as hard as Ginger when it comes to activism, and Agatha is a pescetarian so I’m sure many people would disagree when I say she respects nature. But her connection to horses and her way of recognising the world around her as an entity by itself and her dislike for many humans makes her the perfect druid. She came up with the class by herself and I grinned like a fool when she told me. It suits you, I said.

Simon needed an introduction to the game so I sent him links to a few videos detailing the races and classes. I did make a sheet for him in case he didn’t come up with anything on his own. But then he sent me a human fighter. I realised then that this campaign would be full of self-inserts.

Penelope proves this theory correct. Her character is an Aasimar wizard. Her sheet is min-maxxed to all hell. I’ve never seen a first level wizard with a +3 to constitution before. She hasn’t told me much about her character’s backstory yet, but from what she wrote down, I think I have a great way of introducing the characters to each other. My group may not know how tiring it is to have the party meet in a tavern and then be recruited to fight off gnolls by a city guard, but I do, and I’m not putting them through outdated tropes.

If Penny proves my theory that there would only be self-insert characters, Baz cements it. His character is a Dark Elf Blood Hunter whose backstory is full of angst and self-loathing. I’m excited, it should be a nice contrast to Agatha’s bright character. I’m also terrified. If every player character is an oversaturated version of their players, how will I keep us all sane?

Agatha brings me a cup of tea (don’t tell my mom, but I now prefer tea to coffee), and I finish setting up the table. Baz and Simon arrive within minutes of each other. Penny follows after Simon a minute later. She must have been parking the car while Simon ran up to see if Baz had arrived yet.

When everyone’s settled, I make eye contact with my players, one by one. Then, I unfold the map I spent all Monday evening drawing.

“It’s a quiet morning. Frost clings onto the leaves of the tree branches that surround you. You're on the outskirts of the small town Springstead, a tiny beacon of civilisation. Agatha, please introduce your character.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading !
> 
> Min-maxxing: Placing stats and selecting race/class based on the most optimal build and not necessarily based on what fits the character


End file.
